Water Hungry Coal: Burning South Africa's Water to Produce Electricity

Water hungry coal Burning South Africa’s water to produce electricity “Among the many things that I learnt as president was the centrality of water in the social, political and economic affairs of the country, the continent and the world.” Nelson Mandela, World Summit on Sustainable Development, Johannesburg, 2002 Report 2012 © Greenpeace / Oswald Chikosi 2011. For more information contact: [email protected] Lead author: Melita Steele Contributing author: Nina Schulz Edited by: Fiona Musana, Nina Schulz Acknowledgements: Lauri Myllyvirta, David Santillo, Sanjiv Gopal, Olivia Langhoff, Ferrial Adam, Ruth Mhlanga, Michael Baillie, Mbong Akiy Published in October 2012 Greenpeace Africa 10A and 10B Clamart House, Clamart Road, Richmond Johannesburg, South Africa Postal Address: Greenpeace Africa PostNet Suite 125 Private Bag X09, Melville Johannesburg, 2109 South Africa Tel: +27 (0)11 482 4696 Fax: +27 (0)11 482 8157 Website: www.greenpeaceafrica.org Designed by: Kai.Toma Creatives Printed on 100% recycled post-consumer paper with vegetable based inks. Executive Summary 3 1. Background 6 1.1. Water scarcity 6 1.2. Looming conflicts over water 7 1.3. Climate Change 8 1.4. Making the coal-water connection 8 1.5. Water: the foundation of life 10 1.6. Coal versus water as a strategic resource 12 2. The thirsty, polluting coal process 13 2.1. The water impacts of coal production 13 2.2. The water impacts of coal combustion at coal-fired power stations 14 2.3. Water contamination by Acid Mine Drainage 15 3. Eskom’s “efficiency” efforts 18 3.1. Eskom’s thirst for water: incremental efficiency and pollution reduction measures 18 4. Who really controls the water? 20 4.1. Water and the electricity sector 20 4.2. Transparency and water licences: the litmus test for democracy? 20 4.3. Extreme water supply options: water transfer schemes and desalination 21 5. Greenwashing: Eskom’s renewable energy efforts 24 6. The solution to South Africa’s water and electricity crisis: An Energy [R]evolution 25 7. Conclusion 27 8. Greenpeace recommendations 28 9. References 30 2 Water hungry coal: Burning South Africa’s water to produce electricity Executive Summary Safe, affordable and accessible water is regarded as one of resources at severe risk. It is very likely that building more our planet’s scarcest natural resources.1 This is particularly coal-fired power stations like Medupi and Kusile, and true on the African continent, where water insecurity is often increasing coal mining to supply them will essentially send an everyday reality. At the same time, equitable access to South Africa into a water deficit, given that the country’s water is fundamental to life and human health and well- total available water resources may well have already been being. allocated to the maximum.78 South Africa already struggles with water scarcity, and it Coal-fired electricity generation currently contributes to over is predicted that the country will face a significant water 90% of South Africa’s electricity,9 with Eskom accounting for crisis in the coming decade.2 Thus water scarcity could a staggering 62.3%10 of South Africa’s emissions in 2011.11 well become a fundamental development constraint in the Burning coal to produce electricity is an incredibly water future.3 Within this context, a range of choices are being intensive process,12 with a number of serious implications made. Choices with major implications for water availability, for both water quantity and quality.13 Coal-fired power poverty alleviation, job creation, electricity generation and stations use significantly more water compared to the water energy access. One of these choices relates to the energy needed for most almost ‘water-free’ renewable energy future of this country, which has economy-wide implications. technologies.14 The South African government and Eskom are making Eskom itself admits that in the process of generating a clear energy choice at the moment: in favour of coal electricity, the utility is a significant user of the country’s expansion, at the expense of access to scarce water fresh water.15 In one second, Eskom uses the same amount resources, people’s health and affordable electricity. The of water as a single person would use within one year, based coal mining and electricity industry contribute substantially on access to the minimum 25 litres of water per day. And in to water pollution and scarcity, jeopardising the country’s seven seconds, the utility uses nearly the same amount of ability to deal with an impending water crisis. Tragically, water as a household would use in an entire year, based on competition for this scarce resource may well culminate in the free basic water allocation.i Within this context, in 2012 conflicts over water. This means that the linkages between there are still nearly a million households without access to coal-fired electricity generation and water can no longer be the minimum 25 litres of water16 per person per day.17 ignored.4 According to the National Water Act (Act no. 36 of 1998) However, the country continues to try to solve the symptoms the government, as trustee of the nation’s water resources, of these crises instead of addressing the causes. Eskom must allocate water equitably, and in the public interest.18 and the South African government continue to deal with These allocation decisions are becoming ever more crucial the electricity crisis by building new coal-fired power against the backdrop of an impending water crisis, which stations, pushing the price of electricity upwards due to rising coal costs,5 generating substantial environmental and health impacts, worsening climate change, and thereby i During 2011, Eskom used 327 billion litres of fresh water, amounting to a staggering 10 000 litres of water per second, compared to a single person using the accelerating impacts on water scarcity. And the moves to minimum of 25 litres of water per day, which would amount to 9 125 litres of water per label coal ‘a strategic resource’6 puts South Africa’s water year or a household using the minimum 6 000 litres of water per month, which would amount to 72 000 litres of water per year. © Greenpeace / Paul Langrock 2012. Water hungry coal: Burning South Africa’s water to produce electricity 3 makes transparency and accountability in the water sector country: to half of what would be required for coal mining even more important. However, there is a serious lack of and coal power combined, and to a level even lower than transparency regarding water management plans and water a 2007 baseline.ii By shifting away from coal and nuclear licences in South Africa. Most of this information remains energy and towards renewable energy systems, substantial confidential, and inaccessible to the public. amounts of scarce water could be saved, and diverted to other sectors where it is urgently needed, avoiding water Of the 22 mines that supply Eskom with coal, half were insecurity and potential conflict.29 operating without a valid water licence in 2010,19 which creates clear threats to the accountability of users and the Eskom is the only recognised ‘strategic water user’ of protection of this country’s water resources.20 And there national importance in South Africa.30 But the utility’s are still more questions than answers. A recent inquiry by unnecessary water-use for its coal-fired power stations Greenpeace Africa shows that in 2012 the Department of will push this country closer to a water crisis. The utility Water Affairs has issued 83 water licences for coal mining, consistently makes seemingly convincing public statements while the Department of Mineral Resources lists 119 about how it takes concerns about its water use and operational coal mines.21 The Department of Water Affairs environmental sustainability ‘seriously’.31 However, Eskom did not provide an answer clarifying this gap in licensing by simply continues to prioritise coal to the exclusion of all the time of publication of this report. other options. And the ‘solutions’ the utility proposes are not solutions at all, they are simply expensive technology-fixes South Africans have a right to know how water is being designed to maintain the status quo. allocated, managed and polluted. Confidentiality in the water sector essentially disempowers the people of this In light of global water scarcity and catastrophic climate country, effectively removing their ability to hold industry change, incremental improvements in the technology used accountable for its water use. This is particularly true given to burn coal to create electricity are simply not good enough. the fact that no part of the country’s water resources are In reality, Eskom has failed to recognise that the way it regarded as ‘private property’,22 and the National Water currently generates, transmits and distributes electricity is Act (Act no.36 of 1998) clearly states in its preamble that flawed and unsustainable, with substantial, unavoidable and “water is a natural resource that belongs to all people”.23 long-lasting impacts. The connection that is not being made The current allocation of water to the coal mining industry is that reducing the country’s coal addiction may actually and to Eskom for coal-fired electricity is not a transparent, help to cultivate economic growth and create sustainable accountable or sustainable decision. And it is definitely not jobs through renewable energy.32 in the public interest, given that there are very effective alternatives to coal, but there are no alternatives to It is often argued that South Africa’s significant coal water. dependency results in a number of serious ‘environmental’ impacts.33 However, it is easy to dismiss these impacts as The vast majority of renewable technologies use ‘environmental’ in nature.

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